Monterey County opens center to help at-risk youth

Clarification: Starting in 2011, foster care youth may choose to continue receiving services until they turn 20 as long as they're enrolled in school or have at least a part time job.

SALINAS &GT;&GT; California has the largest population of foster care children in the United States.

For youth who must leave the system when they become 18, the statistics look bleak: 65 percent of them emancipate without a place to live. Fewer than three percent go to college. Although foster children make up less than one percent of California's population, in any given year they'll comprise about 40 percent of people living in homeless shelters, according to the California Progress Report.

But the eight founders of a community center in Salinas for at-risk youth want you to know they're not statistics, even though most of them are former or current foster care children.

They can — and have — defied the odds. Five of them are either attending or have graduated from college — even while raising a child.

They also want you to note one of their most remarkable accomplishments so far: founding The Epicenter, the first community center for at-risk youth in Monterey County.

On Thursday, founders Emma Ramirez, Krystal Aguilera, Ryan Moses, Fernanda Ocana, William Mendez, Rosa Anaya, Patterson Emesibe and Karina Zamudio played host to the grand opening of The Epicenter, a century-old house they expect will be used by other youth like them to find their path in life.

"The Epicenter is where the change will happen," said Ramirez, 24. The youth "will find their underlying potential."

Thus the center's motto, which like most everything about the center, was put together by the youth themselves.

"The mission was one of the hardest things we had to do," Ramirez said, pointing to the statement printed on the wall. "It took us like three hours."

More than 200 community members gathered Thursday to take part on the center's grand opening. The founders led tours of the one-bedroom house, where at-risk youth will be welcome to do laundry and have a cup of coffee. The center will also help other youth find information about enrolling in college, finding medical care, housing and other services. This is the type of knowledge teens can find from caring adults in their lives, but that children leaving the foster care system lack.

The founders led their guests to the wall where all their volunteers are listed, where the resources available to youth like them are pictured, and where the timeline of The Epicenter is documented with photographs.

Monterey County community leaders had been trying to find a way to help vulnerable young people get the resources they need to transition into adulthood. Then they saw a presentation by Voices Napa, a program that's been in existence for 10 years working precisely on those issues, and they came together to make the center a reality.

Members from the Voices teams, which also has a center in Sonoma, helped the Monterey County youth figure out what they needed to make their center a reality. They coached them throughout the process, and on Thursday they were part of the celebration on 20 Maple St. in Salinas.

The transformation he's seen in the founders has been remarkable, said Gary Vincent, one of the adult leaders who spoke during Thursday's events.

"When we started we had to try to find a place for a retreat, some of the young people had to try to call places or make arrangements," he said. "They went from hesitation on the phone to 'no, we got this.' It was amazing."

Anaya, 17, was so excited about the grand opening she was tearing up constantly.

"Just seeing everyone here, seeing the support," feels great, she said. She's also excited to know The Epicenter will be here for her when she turns 18 and needs services to be on her own.

"I see myself as an independent person," she said. "I want to depend on myself and not on others. I want to explore, find my own answers, and this is a great way for me to help young people do well."